Senior Project Officer

Job Description

UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism.

Duration of contract: 1 year renewable with a six months probationary period. Extension of contract is subject to availability of funds and satisfactory performance.

Overview of the functions of the post

The International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP-UNESCO) is a UNESCO specialized institute with Offices in Buenos Aires, Dakar, and Paris. The mandate of IIEP-UNESCO is to strengthen Member States’ capacity to plan and manage their education systems. The IIEP-UNESCO Office in Dakar (IIEP-UNESCO Dakar) is renowned for its cutting-edge educational sector analyses and supports African countries in developing realistic and credible education system development plans in support of the Education 2030 agenda, an essential part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Through a well-crafted and targeted capacity development approach, IIEP-UNESCO Dakar contributes to diagnostic analyses, sector plans and the development of pedagogical as well as methodological tools. These contribute to more relevant and sustainable educational policies across the African continent, and beyond. IIEP-UNESCO Dakar is also actively involved in knowledge creation for the education sector, not just in Africa but for countries that share similar development profile. For more information about its activities please follow this link: IIEP-UNESCO Dakar.

Under the overall authority of the IIEP Director and of the Head of IIEP Dakar Office, and the direct supervision of IIEP Dakar Senior Education Policy Analyst and Planner (Quality Assurance officer), the successful candidate will contribute to activities related to the analysis, planning, implementation, management, monitoring and evaluation of education and training policies in Africa. He/she will participate in activities conducted in selected countries with other team members from IIEP-UNESCO Dakar, Paris and Buenos Aires, and may be responsible for ensuring the leadership and management of team members assigned to those countries. He/she will also contribute to the development and delivery of IIEP-UNESCO Dakar’s training programs and to the reinforcement of capacities of IIEP-UNESCO Dakar’s staff.

Main duties and responsabilities

Support African countries in the development, implementation and monitoring of education and training policies:

• Support the education and training sectors analysis, planning, implementation, management, monitoring and evaluation.
• Support the development of education and training sectors, sub-sectors, and thematic diagnoses.
• Support the development of education and training strategy documents (policy orientation, simulation models, sector plans, medium term expenditure frameworks, costed action plan, etc.).
• Support the implementation of education and training policies.
• Support the monitoring and evaluation of education and training policies.
• Support the integration of gender, disability and crisis perspectives in the analysis, planning, implementation, management and monitoring of education and training policies.

Contribute to policy dialogue in the education and training sectors in African countries, in collaboration with all stakeholders:

• Support the policy dialogue, exchanges and coordination in selected countries.
• Support discussions on intra-sector and inter-sector policy tradeoffs.

3. Contribute to the creation, use and dissemination of relevant information in the education and training sectors in Africa:

• Participate in drafting high quality methodological notes, thematic notes, and country notes including presenting those key notes to targeted audience.
• Participate in the design of tools for analysis, planning, implementation, management and monitoring and evaluation of education and training policies in Africa.
• Contribute to knowledge creation on the state of education and training in Africa and international initiatives for the Education 2030 Agenda.
• Participate in the follow-up of the SDG4 and CESA (Continental Education Strategy for Africa) agendas, in collaboration with UNESCO country and regional offices and other partners.
• Contribute to updating the IIEP-UNESCO indicators database, websites and other web portals and interactive spaces for documentation and exchanges on education and training policies in Africa (digital bibliography, statistics, policy documents, etc.).

Contribute to the professional development of officials in the education and training sectors in Africa in charge of the analysis, planning, implementation, management, monitoring and evaluation of education and training policies:

• Contribute to the identification of the training needs of national officials.
• Contribute to the design and development of training and other capacity building initiatives and/or outreach strategies for targeted audiences in Africa.
• Contribute to the delivery of training and other capacity building initiatives developed by IIEP-UNESCO Dakar, in collaboration with its partners.

Contribute to the quality assurance of IIEP-UNESCO Dakar products, especially that of the Technical Cooperation and Training teams:

• Contribute to the peer review of policy documents produced from partner countries (sector and thematic analyses, sector plans, methodological guidelines, policy briefs, etc.).
• Contribute to the quality assurance of the publication processes for the office’s reports and policy documents.
• Contribute to the revision of IIEP-UNESCO Dakar training documents by incorporating methodological developments in education sector analyses, leveraging the field experience gained by the IIEP during its work, integrating analytical and methodological outputs from the IIEP and its partners, and considering feedback from training participants.

Contribute to capacity building of IIEP-UNESCO Dakar:

• Support the identification and integration of innovative approaches, best practices, and new methodologies within education and training policies, specifically tailored for African contexts.
• Contribute to forums for internal sharing of practices across projects.
• Contribute to the reinforcement of capacities of IIEP-UNESCO Dakar’s TC staff.

Undertake any additional activities that may be required to ensure the success of the team.

Competencies (Core / Managerial)

• Communication (C)
• Accountability (C)
• Innovation (C)
• Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement (C)
• Planning and organizing (C)
• Results focus (C)
• Teamwork (C)
• Professionalism (C)

For detailed information, please consult the UNESCO Competency Framework.

Required qualifications

Education

Advanced university degree (Masters or equivalent) in Economics or Statistics or a related discipline.

Work Experience

• Minimum four (4) years of relevant professional experience in the fields of sector analysis, planning and management of education systems, of which preferably two (2) years acquired at international level.
• Professional experience with African countries’ education ministries and development partners.

Skills and competencies

• Demonstrable knowledge of African education systems.
• Demonstrable knowledge of statistical and econometric techniques.
• Excellent knowledge and use of statistical software such SPSS, SAS, STATA and spreadsheets
• Demonstrable knowledge of techniques to develop an education and training development plan.
• Good knowledge of the problems of education in the context of developing countries particularly in Africa, including those related to the integration of equity dimensions in education analysis and policy making, particularly gender equality.
• Ability to undertake regular missions, especially in diverse and challenging contexts.
• Ability to work with, lead, motivate and support multicultural teams.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (oral and written).

Languages

Excellent knowledge of either French or English and good knowledge of the other.

Desirable qualifications

Language

Good/fair knowledge of Portuguese, given IIEP activities in Portuguese speaking African countries.

Skills and competencies

Knowledge and understanding of UNESCO operating context in the African Region.

Benefits and entitlements

UNESCO’s salaries consist of a basic salary and other benefits which may include if applicable: 30 days annual leave, family allowance, medical insurance, pension plan etc.

The approximate annual starting salary for this post is 92, 718 US $.

For full information on benefits and entitlements, please consult our Guide to Staff Benefits.

Selection and recruitment process

Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information. To apply, please visit the UNESCO careers website. No modifications can be made to the application submitted.

The evaluation of candidates is based on the criteria in the vacancy notice, and may include tests and/or assessments, as well as a competency-based interview.

UNESCO uses communication technologies such as video or teleconference, e-mail correspondence, etc. for the assessment and evaluation of candidates.

Please note that only selected candidates will be further contacted and candidates in the final selection step will be subject to reference checks based on the information provided.

Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 20-Dec-2024.